Falling
by poyzin
Summary: TK feels responsible for something tragic that happened to Kari and his guilt is haunting him. Note: character death.


Author's note:  
  
Poyzin: Hello, let me introduce myself: I'm Poyzin... Well, now that we got that over with, let's move on with my fic...  
  
Ruka & Michi: Wait! What about us? You promised!  
  
Poyzin: Ok, ok, fine. ::rushed:: These are my muses, Ruka and Michi... Now, back to my fic! People are waiting, you know!  
  
Ruka: You'll have to excuse her... she gets a little tempermental when she's on a sugar rush.  
  
Michi: Can you imagine what we have to deal with putting up with her?  
  
Poyzin: Hey, I heard that! Don't make me have to do what I did last time... POP MUSIC... (by the way, if you like pop, gomen.)  
  
Ruka & Michi: AAHHHHH! ::shudders::  
  
Poyzin: ...Much better... Note: I was in a kinda depressed mood when I wrote this. (Ruka: Aren't you always?) Hey, babe, Britney and N'Sync are calling your name... (Ruka backs away quickly) Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon--that belongs to the dudes at Toei. On with the fic! R/R plz!  
  
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"Kari! No!"  
I screamed as she fell through the bridge. I dived after her and caught her hand just before she slipped under. Sharp jagged rocks protruded below.  
Our D3s had detected something in the Digital World. We weren't really sure what it was, so Kari and I decided to investigate. We had stopped at the edge of a cliff. The mysterious object was located on the other side and the only way across was a very rickety briedge. Kari said she was scared, so I told her I would walk behind her to make her feel safer. She asked me not to let anything bad happen and I promised I wouldn't. Wow, I thought, she must be really scared of heights, probably. So I reassured her, everything would be all right because I would take care of her. This is when Fate usually decides to play very cruel tricks on you.  
We were about halfway across the bridge when she stepped on that loose board. I quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her before she fell onto the rocks. She was dangling in midair, clutching my wrist fiercly. She looked up at me with terrified eyes. Patamon and Gatomon both tried to help, but their efforts were futile.   
"TK," she gasped, "please, don't let me fall. Don't let me die."  
"I won't," I reassured her as much as myself. "I won't let you down."  
I was sweating so much, my grip started to slip. My shoulder felt as if it would be ripped from my socket as I strained to pull her up, but with little results. Her eyes grew wide, knowing what was happening. I couldn't reach her other hand and she was starting to slide, little by little. Again, she pleaded with me not to let her fall, and again I saw her terrified eyes, petriefied by fear.  
"No...I...won't...let...you...fall..." I whispered through gritted teeth. But we both knew that I wouldn't be able to save her. She started screaming as my hold failed. She dropped to the waiting rocks below. My heart felt as if a knife had plunged into it and had started twisting. She's gone. It was a burning coal that I couldn't touch. "Nooo---!"  
  
"---Kari!" TK screamed as he jerked awake, dripping in sweat. He glanced at his alarm clock. It read 3:38 AM. Patamon hovered worriedly above him.  
"Bad nightmare, TK? Are you all right?" he asked.  
Was it only a horrible dream? Could it be really possible that he had just imagined that terrible scenario? Kari could actually be at home right now sleeping like everyone else. He frantically looked around searching for a clue that his theory was correct. His clouded blue eyes wandered around and he spotted a lonely white cat staring blankly out the window with a whistle around her neck, mourning the loss of her owner. The boy knew it was true. It wasn't just a horrible scene created within his mind. It had actually happened. The bridge, the struggle, the fall, all of it. He had promised to keep her safe and failed. Now she was gone for good.  
"Oh my God, Kari! What did I do?" he whispered hoarsely.  
He reached under his rumpled pillow for a small photograph. It was a picture of Kari and him, his favorite one. He stared at the picture, memorizing every detail about her. He was transfixed at the photo until Patamon asked him, "Do you still miss her? We all tried to save her. Don't keep blaming yourself. It's not your fault."  
"Yes it is, Patamon. I did that to her. I let her fall." And with that, the boy lay back down on his bed and cried himself to sleep. His partner still worried about him and the withdrawn cat still sat by the window. The boy fell asleep knowing that the same nightmare would haunt him again and again. He knew that every time, he would look into those terrified eyes and hear her last scream and know it was his fault. Because he let her fall.  
  
owari  
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Poyzin: So what d'ya think? Plz review this, whatever you think of it. Be honest (don't worry if ya didn't like it that much, review it anywayz...i have to put up with these two ::points to Ruka & Michi:: so I can handle it.  
  
Ruka & Michi: Hey!   
  
Michi: That's it! Ok, Ruka, we are confiscating her sugar stash!  
  
Poyzin: Hey, hey, wait! C'mon, you know I was just playing! Hey- how did you find that? Give that back! Come here! Well, excuse me, I have to go lock them in a room and play Jessica Simpson repeatedly... mwahahahaha! Yes, I have control of the stereo! Ja ne, minna-san!   
  



End file.
